University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco is a Jesuit school in the heart of San Francisco, just blocks away from the historic Haight-Ashbury district.  San Francisco serves as an extended classroom; they say USF is 243 small classrooms inside of one giant one.  While it is a Jesuit school, only about a quarter of the students identify as Catholic.  There are Rabbis on staff and USF offers a Jewish Studies minor.

University of San Francisco has a commitment to social justice and academic rigor grounded by faith.  The school requires students to take one theology and one service learning course during their time at USF, as well as classes in multiple disciplines to build a well-rounded education.  Students are required to do an internship while in college.  Pre-health students are guaranteed internships at UCSF Medical Center, and USF’s medical school acceptance rate is close to 90%.

USF has three colleges:  Nursing is a highly competitive DIRECT ENTRY program, which means you can only enter as a first year student.  Nursing students have the opportunity to experience immersion programs in Vietnam or Guatemala.  The school of Business/Management has a top 12 program in entrepreneurship, and 8 available majors, listed here.  With several hundred multinational corporations headquartered in San Francisco, students have a multitude of internship opportunities.  USF has both Master’s and an undergraduate degree in Data Science – the study of tracking data and helping companies decide how to use it.

USF’s School of Arts & Sciences has 36 majors; Biology, Psychology, English and International Studies are among the most popular.  USF has a joint engineering program with USC; students take three years as physics majors at USF and then transfer to USC for 2 more years, where they earn a Bachelor of Science degree.

USF requires just one letter of recommendation from a teacher or counselor.  The school considers itself an excellent place for B+ students and considers students’ transcripts heavily in the admission process.  USF is test-optional and offers very strong need-based AND merit-based aid.

Immersion trips allow students to study abroad (or domestically, but away from San Francisco) for shorter periods of time, from 10 days to 3 weeks.  University ministry organizes many such trips, which are often service-oriented.  These trips are a highlight for many students.  Given that USF is in the middle of a major city, there’s a shortage of student housing, as well as parking.  Most freshman live on campus, and about half of sophomores, and the rest of the upperclassmen live off campus.  One tour guide mentioned that the campus is more active during the week than on the weekends.

USF has an excellent cross country and track team, and they excel in baseball.  Sports teams play at the Division I level, but students often mention the lack of school spirit at USF.

Magellan counselors have visited USF multiple times!  You can see all of the photos from our visits in 2012, 2015 and 2022 here.